Mostyn is indeed a magician!
“There is no harsher critic of myself than me”- I think those words would be etched on my gravestone if I hadn’t already decided I was being cremated. Added to which the grammatical use of “me” rather than “I” would probably make me roll in my grave😂
But you get my drift – I am and always have been incredibly hard on myself. I keep pushing to see what I can achieve. So when it comes to riding my motorcycle I want to get it “right” which, for me, boils down to being smooth, riding corners well, making “steady progress” 😉 and without crashing. Not much to ask really!
For those who don’t know I came late to riding. I was 32 before I rode a bicycle and then two weeks later took my CBT. I’m not naturally gifted at all – as can be shown by the amount of times I fell off during training, including ending up on crutches. But I’m fascinated by biking and when I want to learn something I really do persevere until I feel I’ve got it right!
So what’s with the confidence problem? Let me paint you a picture. At the time I’d been biking for more than 16 years (now 18), which involved four bikes, the odd tour abroad, a track day, three accidents (numpty drivers not me!) and all kinds of weather except snow! I lost my mojo back in 2016. Between that and the lost Covid years, I barely rolled the bike around the garage yet I couldn’t part with it.
Then 2023 hit and I had a moment when I thought “What the heck! time’s a wasting!” Of course by then I literally had seized up, second guessing everything I did so I could barely get out the driveway – we’d moved to a house which was now a hazardous (to me) deep pit of gravel rather than a tarmac’d drive😱. It was a small celebration to get down the driveway, but every ride ended in overwhelming relief that I’d got back safely rather than enjoying the ride. I’d really lost my love for it and felt like I was wobbling on CBT again rather than the many years of experience I have under my belt.
But that little imp of stubbornness that resides me in was not giving in. At first I tried my local RoSPA but unfortunately after covid they were a bit thin on the ground with instructors/observers. But they very kindly pointed me in the direction of a man who shall forever be considered by me to be a magical being – Mr Paul Mostyn of Paul Mostyn Training.
I learn best with one to one training, so I don’t have to feel like an idiot for asking questions everyone else seems to know the answer to. I also don’t have to worry about monopolising the attention of the trainer whom other people have also paid to teach them.
As a trained police motorcyclist and driver Paul is extremely experienced, having ridden and driven in the UK and abroad for more than 33 years and has over 30 years of policing experience. That includes an impressive 28 years of driving and riding at police response and advanced levels. His pedigree is high, having been trained by the Hendon Driving School, worked in advanced training with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and BMW.
As if that wasn’t enough Paul was the creator of BikeSafe, something I’ve attended twice in my years when I was a London biker, first on my Kwak GPZ500 and then on my Yamaha FZ6s.
Meeting Paul was probably the best thing I’ve done for myself and my biking, – along with a relaxing hypnotherapy session for the gravel. From the moment we spoke on the phone, he had my measure – apparently I think too much!!
When a man, other than your husband, tells you to “stop being a Princess Prendergast and just get on with it”, you know he understands you😂😂
On the plus side apparently I also ride quite well! He reassured me he was going to stay behind me at all times and would guide me through any tricky situations, so I could just concentrate on riding.
After some time watching me as we moved through built up roads to country ones, Paul told me: “Prendy, you’re a good rider – I’d ride with you without hesitation, whereas there are people I do take out for training and have to tell them they’d be better off not being on a bike!!” High praise indeed from the Master.
My problem is that I don’t just accept a thing is a thing, and go with the natural flow. I want to know WHY is a thing a thing AND a thing? Yes I was that irritating child that constantly asked that question and I still do it today.
Paul calls a spade a spade which is a relief and keeps his language short, sweet and to the point so I completely understand.
For a woman who’s ridden round France, Slovenia, and Italy quite comfortably, it’s clearly a case for me of “if you don’t use it, you lose it”.
Food for thought is that I drive regularly and often do things in different ways to which I was taught, and don’t bat an eyelid about it. But for some reason, I treat as gospel everything I was ever taught during my motorcycle training. I think this is possibly because I never had a bicycle as a child so was never fully aware of what you can physically do/not do on one.
But as Paul points out – that DAS training is to get you through training to pass a test and do so safely. From then on it’s about real life and experiences and adapting until you feel comfortable and safe with it.
He took a guiding hand where needed, and using (single way) intercom guided me, tweaking my road positioning, explaining the mysteries of easing off and pushing on the gas for different types of corners (I never properly understood that apex thing until now), and above all reminding me to RELAX. After just one three-hour session with him, I felt more in control, understood where my bad habits had crept in, and had a handful of things to practice before our next meeting like the approach to roundabouts and preparing/looking far far earlier than I had been doing which then made it soooooo much easier to ride them.
That weekend I went out on my bike with my husband, and led the way. About 40 mins after setting off we rolled into a petrol station for a fill up. Chef parked up beside me and the first thing he said was: “Well that was money well spent. It’s like chalk and cheese between now and the last time we went out on our bikes”.
To say I was pleased was an understatement.
I’ve had several more sessions with Paul just to focus on things that were annoying me, like turning right out of a junction. Been doing it fine for years but all of a sudden I’m all over the place as if I’d forgotten what to do. ( Turns out it was a combination of not enough power, too much back brake and above all not looking where I wanted to go – proper newbie stuff!).
Being given permission by Paul to relax and trust in my own experience has set me free – nowadays every ride is actually a disappointment to realise I’ve got home as I want to keep riding. I’ve recalled my love for biking, the open road, the twisties and the joy of it all. In the last seven months I’ve put just over 3000 miles on my bike having fun. That compares to the previous two years when I barely did 900 miles in total!
Now I can’t stop grinning whenever I ride!
So if you want one to one training, whether IAM, RoSPA, tackling bothersome issues, or just someone to hold your hand, I can thoroughly ONE HUNDRED PERCENT recommend Mr Mostyn to you.
Ride safe, I’m off to enjoy some biking😉
Prendy
A bird's eye view to biking! 